The Morning After
by Lololova
Summary: "Made you a coffee," she announced gently, continuing her walk around the bed to get to the side she hoped to claim as hers. "So, it wasn't a dream," Castle stated and when she glanced at him through her lashes she could see the gigantic smile pull at the corners of his lips. One shot set in 5x01 with a different take on what happened that morning.


_**Prompt** : at the bottom of this one shot due to spoilers. Only thing you need to know is it takes place in 5x01 After The Storm. __Enjoy!_

* * *

Kate Beckett woke up with an arm wrapped around her, feeling her head rise and fall in the rhythm of someone's breathing, and at first she was about to panic. _Who was she sleeping on? Why was she naked? Where was she?_ But as sudden as the questions popped up in her mind so did the flashes of memories from the night before.

 _"Beckett, what do you want?"_

 _"You."_

She'd flung herself at him, claimed his lips with hers as if it was the only way to convince him, _maybe it had been_. She'd gotten scared when he pushed her away again, _what if she was too late?_ But after she'd told him everything she felt relevant in that second, _because there were so much more to tell him but not enough time_ , he'd taken her mouth with his and pushed her against the shutting door. She remembered how she'd gasped ' _oh god_ ' against his ear when he attached his lips to her neck. After that everything had escalated before slowing down, and she'd led him to his bedroom. She'd never been in there before, not really, but she didn't care what it looked like, all she wanted was _him_. And she'd gotten him. Just like he'd gotten her. And their bodies had moved together in a way she'd never experienced before. It was like their dance around each other had made everything so much more intense, so much more real, than anything they'd ever had before. _At least for her_.

Now, awake with her head on his naked chest, his arm gently wrapped around her, she just hoped he was in this the way she was. Carefully she moved her head to look up at him, kissed his jaw with barely touching lips. It felt so good being this close to him, with their naked skin touching, but she needed to go to the bathroom. With her moves as small as possible she moved his arm away from her and started to get away from his warm body. Once she was free and standing she looked down at him with a small smile playing on her lips. Her whole body was singing with soreness from their activities, she'd never felt so good after a night of lo... She bit her lower lip, she couldn't let that slip. Not yet. It was still too new, too vulnerable. She wasn't sure he still felt the same way about her like he did a year earlier. Apparently she'd hurt him pretty bad, _what if he wouldn't forgive her?_ She quickly and silently went doing her business in the bathroom, and as she stood there, washing her hands, she looked herself in the mirror. Her hair was clear proof as to what they had done and as the thought of taming it crossed her mind so did the feeling of pride. No way was she destroying the proof of a wonderful night before the man behind the fingers responsible for the wilderness had witnessed it.

Walking back to the bedroom she stopped by the edge of the bed in order to look at him again. He looked so peaceful, a lot younger than he had done when they fought the day before. _The fight that_ _was_ _her fault_. With a sigh she tried to think of something, _anything_ , that could help him understand how much he meant to her. She was not just showing up at his door because she had been close to death and had a strong need to have him first. She was showing up to let him know she was done with her mother's case. She was _done_ chasing ghosts. Her life was worth a lot more living than dead, and she knew her mother would've scolded her if they'd reunited the day before. If Johanna had seen Kate in heaven, or hell, before Kate was grey and old she most likely would've kicked her ass, scolding her about how her own life was worth much more than her mother's death. _Coffee!_ Kate suddenly jerked up at the idea.

 _"Every day I bring you a cup of coffee just to see a smile on your face."_

Kate looked around, found her wet clothes in a pile on the floor and frowned. She couldn't put that on. Glancing around the room her eyes landed on a white button shirt and she felt her whole face lit up. _Wait till he sees this_ , she thought as she picked up the shirt and put it on. To her relief it went below her ass and therefore she wouldn't need the panties she suspected were still soaking wet. Tip toeing out of his room she passed his office in order to get to the kitchen, spotting the coffee machine immediately. It was at the same spot it had been years ago when she'd stayed there after a psychopath blew up her apartment and Castle offered his guest room to her.

 _"Sir, I don't have a home."_

 _"Yes, you do. It's a secure building with an extra bedroom, with people who care about you. With the Federal detail at the door, it's the safest place in the city."_

It had surprised her how easily he'd given her a place to stay those years ago. But now, thinking back, it shouldn't have. He was already head over heels, and if she'd just been honest with herself she would've seen she was too. It was the reason her heart had practically broken when he'd left for the summer later that year. When the coffee was finished she quickly poured the black beverage into two white cups she found with ease. With a shaky deep breath she grabbed the cups and headed back towards the bedroom, hoping he would like the small gesture once he woke up. She couldn't stop the beating of her heart from pounding against her chest, she was more nervous than she wanted to admit, she was afraid that he would kick her out and say she ruined him. Because the truth was _s_ _he had_. She'd been surprised he let her in at all the night before, after their fight she'd expected him to hate her with his whole body and soul. Taking one last intake of a breath she crossed the threshold to his bedroom and let go with her lips pulling up in a big smile at the sight of him. _Awake_. And by the look on his face she could see his eyes were searching for her, which immediately scared away the fear. _He was looking for her_. She felt her heart calm down as a warmth filled her whole body and she couldn't stop the way her lips pulled apart to show her teeth.

"Made you a coffee," she announced gently, continuing her walk around the bed to get to the side she hoped to claim as hers.

"So, it wasn't a dream," Castle stated and when she glanced at him through her lashes she could see the gigantic smile pull at the corners of his lips.

"No," she giggled. _Giggled?!_ "You definitely weren't dreaming." She wanted to shy away, wanted to escape the loving gaze of his that was heating up her cheeks.

"Uh, you were right. I had no idea," he said with his eyes big and she sat down on the bed beside his hip. As he was sitting up she handed him the cup of coffee she'd made for him and she could see his eyes sparkle when he accepted it.

She couldn't stop the question from slipping out her mouth, because no matter how much she tried to kill it there was still a small part of her wondering how long it would take before he'd kick her out. "So you liked it?"

"Yeah," Castle's response was so quick she felt her lips quirk.

"Even the part where I-" she started but didn't get to finish as his eyes were widening and his mouth opened.

"Especially that part. I loved that."

"Good. Me too." Kate knew he could hear how shy she was, and she looked down at the cup in her hands, tried to avoid his eyes. She would _drown_ in them if she wasn't careful.

"So, you're on- on board with this, right?" he asked as his hands gently took her coffee in order to put the two cups on his night stand. His question had her eyes shoot right up to his, surprised he even felt the need to ask. "It's not some 'Oh, I-I quit my job, I almost died, I'm in crisis' thing?" he tried, very poorly, to imitate her and she furrowed her brows. _Hadn't she been clear about what she wanted last night?_

"Uh, no. Not for me." _What if it was for him? What if this was his way of saying this wasn't what he wanted anymore? That she was too late?_

"Okay. Me neither," he quickly assured and she felt herself let go of the breath she'd held. His grin widened so incredibly big and she felt her lips mirror his as her whole being filled with a happiness she hadn't felt in forever.

"Okay. Good," she whispered.

"Good," he agreed and she felt this excruciating need to kiss him, to show him just how much she lo... wanted him. And the perfect idea sneaked into her mind.

She lowered her gaze a little, just sneaked glanced through her lashes as she let her hands slowly unbutton the few buttons she'd buttoned earlier. "But I-uh," she said simultaneously with her actions, "I did just quit my job. And I do have the day off." His eyes trailed down to where her fingers made quick work and she smiled at the look he got.

"I-I do too," he stammered and she felt pride of being able to surprise him so.

"Oh, really?" she challenged, loving this banter they always had going on between them. Silently hoping their banter would turn into the game she knew it could, especially now when they were together.

"Yes," he confirmed and she hummed with satisfaction. "So what would you-uhm, like to do today?" he asked as his hand traveled to push the material of her shoulder the second the buttons where loose. She could see his eyes darken as he saw what she was wearing underneath. _Nothing_.

"Uhm, I don't know. We could read," she suggested with a small shrug of her shoulder, letting the material slip lower.

"We could watch TV," he countered and she bit her lip.

She didn't struggle to come up with something new, though she had a feeling they both knew _exactly_ what they wanted to spend the day doing. "Yeah. We could get something to eat."

"We could do that, yeah." He leaned closer and she felt herself lean into him too. Their lips were so close she could feel his breath meet hers and, _god,_ she wanted to taste him again. She wanted to know if the static would feel the same today as yesterday.

"Richard, I'm home!" the sudden sound of Martha's voice had them both jerking a bit, but it was Castle who, despite Kate's cop training, reacted first.

"Oh, my God!" he whisper-yelled as he pushed her off the bed.

Kate yelped at the sudden fall towards the floor but raised simultaneously as him, the pillow that had followed from the bed in a tight grip in front of her naked body.

"Oh, God!" Castle complained again and it suddenly dawned on Kate what was going on. _His mother was home_.

"You said she was at the Hamptons?" she said in a rush with fear filling her body, her grip on the pillow tightening as she looked at her partner.

"She was in the Hamptons. She's not supposed to be here!" he whispered with panic in his voice.

"Darling, we need to talk," Martha's sing-song voice sounded through the walls and Kate moved the pillow slightly down to make sure she covered herself. _Fuck, this would be embarrassing_.

In her peripheral vision she could see her partner both shrink and straighten at the same time, and she quickly prepared herself as she heard the sounds of footsteps come through the office she'd gone through only minutes earlier. _Thank god his mother hadn't come when she was making coffee!_ The second the older woman crossed the threshold and her eyes met the sight in front of her Kate could see her jaw fall as he eyes widened.

It didn't take long for the woman to tame her expression into a neutral one as she exclaimed "Katherine?" with a shocked tone.

Kate felt her cheeks flush and she clenched her teeth to keep them from biting her lip with the embarrassment. She forced one of her hands to let go of the pillow in a quick move to wave at the woman. "Uh, hi," she forced out the greeting from her mouth before clenching it shut again. Silently waiting for the judgement to spill out of the woman.

"Mother, what are you doing home?" Castle said in an accusing tone and Kate lifted her leg to kick his ankle. It would've been so much more discrete if it had been under the table but _they were not seated at a table. They were standing naked with only the materials of bed-related stuff as cover._

"I-uh, I wanted to talk to you about your daughter's many fine qualities..." she started but Castle immediately cut her off.

"Now?! Mother, please," he said with a pointed look at his own body and Kate held her breath when she saw the woman look down and then looked at the undressed state of the two of them.

"Of course!" the woman said as she met Kate's eyes and Kate immediately looked down. "Don't worry, you two get dressed and we'll meet you in the kitchen."

Kate's felt her eyes widening with fright filling her whole body. _They?!_

" _We_?! Alexis is here too?!" Castle called after his mother as she left them alone, closing the door after her.

Kate let go of the breath she'd been hold and couldn't help but gasp for air as she felt her scar pull at the scenery that had just taken place. His _mother_ had caught them _naked_. One part of her was utterly mortified. The other was asking her what the big deal was. After all, they were practically family already. Plus, at least it hadn't been _Alexis_. If his _daughter_ had been the one to find them she would've definitely died right there on the spot. The girl had already shown the dislike she had for her and Kate really didn't need to fuel that emotion any more. _Why did the girl dislike her so much though?_ Kate didn't have a clue about that, but she had a feeling this would _not_ help.

"Kate? Earth to Kate? Kate?!" It wasn't until he was shaking her shoulders that she realized Castle was talking to her and she shook her head to gather up her thoughts. "I'm sorry," he apologized in a murmur, "I'm so sorry."

The guilt in his eyes, the fear, had her shaking her head again. "It's not your fault, she was supposed to be in the Hamptons." Her tone sounded a lot more confident than she was feeling but she could also see the immediately relief when his shoulders relaxed and when his hands left her shoulders she managed to snag one with hers.

His blues gave her a questioning look and she smiled small, lifting his hand to her mouth to kiss his palm before putting it onto her cheek. She found herself calming with his skin touching hers, and she closed her eyes to try and gather strength for the upcoming questioning. Her eyes stayed closed even as she heard the small shuffling of him stepping closer to her and it didn't take more than a second before she felt his lips carefully claim hers in a breathtaking kiss. When they pulled apart again he let his forehead rest against hers for a few seconds before he let go of a deep exhale.

"Let's get dressed to meet them," he mumbled. "Can't get any worse now." She chuckled at that and shook her head in agreement. She raised on her toes to peck his lips again before they pulled away.

Since Kate's clothes were still wet Castle picked out boxers, sweatpants and a hoodie for her to borrow. She couldn't help but smile at the way her nostrils quickly filled with the scent of him and observed him as he was putting on clothes himself. Now that she knew what was underneath she had a feeling she would have a hard time looking at him the same as before last night. Once it got to getting out of the bedroom Kate was hesitant, suggested she'd just stay in there until the coast was clear. But she knew she was ridiculous, and when he silently challenged her for being afraid she narrowed her eyes at him, grabbed his hand and pulled him with her to go face the redheads. He took the opportunity to intertwine their fingers and she felt a rush of comfort when his hand hugged hers with reassurance.

"Alexis, are you hungover?" Castle said with shock the second they came into the view of the redheads.

The teenager was sitting at the counter with her head in her hands while her grandmother was hanging over her, trying to sooth her with her hand rubbing circles on the girl's back. Kate flinched at the memory of her own first hangover, _it hadn't been the most beautiful of sights_. The only good about that memory was how her mother hadn't so much as given her a disapproving glance, she had simply taken care of her and had pulled her into her arms in the couch while they spent the rest of the day watching television.

"Why didn't you call?" the accusation had Kate snap back to reality and she punched Castle's arm with her free one. "Ow!"

That was the first time the girl looked up and when Kate met her icy blue eyes she could see the surprise and question flash through them. The girl's eyes looked between her and the writer and it didn't take long before she formed an 'oh'. Kate let go of Castle's hand in order to put one arm around her chest, hooked it in the other arm, as if she tried to hide herself, tried to hide away from the events that so obviously had happened. She averted her eyes to look at the counter, avoiding the gazes of anyone in the room.

"That's why you didn't answer," Alexis said and Kate could hear the way his daughter was scrunching up her nose. _She was a trained detective after all_. "Urgh," she groaned and Kate was about to excuse herself and walk home, this was obviously a bad idea. _She should've stayed in the bedroom_. "Can I get an aspirin?"

"Of course, I'll get it darling," Martha immediately set off and Kate risked a glance to see the girl was massaging her temples with closed eyes.

"I should probably go home," Kate mumbled and looked at her partner to see his eyes sadden. "This is a family matter, I- I shouldn't impose more than I have."

The older woman came back with the pills and set them down for the teenager as Castle quickly grabbed a bottle of water for her.

"Nonsense, Katherine. You're family," the woman stated and Kate felt her cheeks blush as she started to disagree.

"Don't leave detective Beckett," Alexis said after she'd downed her pills and Kate looked at the girl with wide eyes. "If you stay then perhaps dad won't smother me with cures that won't work."

"Hey!" Castle exclaimed and Alexis immediately groaned with a narrowed look at him. "Sorry," he whispered and Kate rolled her eyes.

"You know what works best?" Kate said, feeling the normalcy getting back, her embarrassment almost forgotten. "Sleeping on the couch with a great show rolling on tv."

The corners of Alexis's lips quirked. "Will you stay and watch it with us?" the girl challenged and Kate's brows furrowed.

"Uh," she looked at Castle who was looking at her with a pleading look. "Sure, but only if it's alright with you."

Alexis nodded but groaned again with her fingers massaging her temples at the pain.

"Come on, pumpkin," Castle rounded the counter in order to help his daughter to the couch.

* * *

Kate had very strategically placed herself at the corner of the couch closest to the door, thinking that if something happened she could easily sneak out and leave. But that plan totally blew up when the teenager had started leaning on her, she'd been shocked and felt herself stiffen at the contact. The girl didn't like her, _right?_ Martha had quickly removed herself from their television watching before it even started, saying she would be going out to the Hamptons like planned since she now knew Alexis was in the right hands again. Castle was sitting on the other side of the couch and Kate was silently giving him questioning looks but he only shook his head and smiled at the way his daughter was leaning on her. When they'd watched two episodes of the show Alexis had chosen Castle's phone suddenly rang and so he excused himself to go answer. This made Kate stiffen again, she had no idea why Alexis was so calm with her. _Why was she leaning on her?!_ She'd seen the hatred in the girl's eyes ever since her shooting, so _why on earth_ was she so calm _now_?! Kate would've thought the scenery of her father and her coming out of the same bedroom would put fuel to the hate. The girl suddenly sighed and Kate held her breath.

"Relax detective Beckett," Alexis said and Kate bit her lip. _Now or never_.

"I can't. I-Why do you hate me?" It was blunt but Kate couldn't stop it from tumbling out her mouth, and she _needed_ to know. If she was ever going to be completely a part of their family she needed to know what she could change in order for the girl to not hate her. And if there was none to be done then she wouldn't force it. She wouldn't be the one thing separating the daughter from her father. _But she was leaning on her_.

Alexis shuffled a bit in order to sit up straight and look at her, Kate could tell the pain from the hangover had decreased. "I don't hate you."

Kate felt her eyes widen at that. "Bu-"

Alexis shook her head in order to cut her off. "I don't hate _you_ ," she said with determination. "I hate that my dad doesn't care if he gets hurt or not. And I did hate that you hurt him by not telling him how you feel." Kate felt her body shrink at that. _She had hurt him so bad that even his daughter had noticed_. Her eyes searched towards his office, where he'd gone off to, and wondered if he could truly forgive her for the pain she'd caused. She wasn't so sure she would be able to forgive herself.

Alexis could see the pain in the detective's eyes, how she was starting to shrink into herself and that hadn't been her intention at all. To get the woman's attention again she carefully grabbed her hand and when their eyes met she gave her a small smile. "But you make him happy, Kate. The smile he had in his eyes this morning... just don't hurt him again." Her voice was gentle and she looked at the detective with pleading eyes.

Kate shook her head, "I won't. I don't want to."

"What are you two talking about?" Castle asked as he was appearing in the door to the office and Kate looked at the writer.

"Just exchanging some girl talk," Alexis quickly said with a smile adoring her lips as she leant towards the detective again.

"Something I can know?" he sat back down in the couch and Alexis grunted.

"No, _girl_ talk," she said and Kate couldn't help but chuckle at that.

They sat in silence after that and this time Kate didn't hesitate to put her arm around the teenager in order to get more comfortable. After another episode Kate looked at her partner's daughter and saw her eyes being closed, Alexis had fallen asleep sometime during the forty minute show. She couldn't stop herself from stroking the red hair, it was softer than she thought it would be, and she wondered what it would be like to have a daughter.

"Thank you," his voice had her flinching and she looked up at him, hadn't noticed him looking at her.

"For what?" she asked with curiosity.

"For coming here, for not dying, _and_ for not leaving. My mother has the worst timing..." he only grunted the last part but she couldn't stop the chuckle from escaping past her lips.

"Yeah, well, doesn't beat the time my mom and dad came home early and me and my boyfriend were nearing second base on the couch in our living room," Kate whispered, laughing at the dumb look her partner got.

"H-how old were you?" he swallowed hard.

She rolled her eyes but knew the amusement was stuck in her smile, couldn't help but love the way he was constantly searching for her story. "I was fifteen," she told him and wrinkled her nose. "He was seventeen and a smoker, so my dad got kind of mad there. Got grounded for a month."

He chuckled at that and she stuck her tongue out at him. When Alexis suddenly started to move Castle started talking about lunch instead, and they planned the rest of the day together. They didn't get more than lunch before their plans got interrupted though, Ryan showing up with case-related files and it took Castle no more than a few seconds before he was right there with her, saying he was willing to help her find the son of a bitch that killed her mom. Kate tried to convince her they should back down, that that's what she'd learned the day before when she decided her life was worth more than her mother's death, but when they found out the man behind the deal of her life was in danger they knew they needed to slay the dragon in order for any of them to be safe. And _they would be safe_. The universe wouldn't just kill them now that they were finally together. Kate didn't believe in much but she believed in them. Together they could do anything.

 _ **THE** **END**_

* * *

 ** _Prompt_** _(found on twitter in a tweet from / castle_scenes ): When Martha arrived early and was going to walk in on these two and their round four, and before Castle panicked and told her to hide in his closet; I love that Beckett was willing to welcome her like that, with just a pillow and a shirt covering her body, look at how she just prepares for it, because it was Martha, and she was family, and yeah, it could be embarrassing, but they could all laugh about it later. She was in this with Castle, she wants to love him, and that also includes his mother and daughter._


End file.
